Another Beginning
by Water-smurf
Summary: Oneiroi Series, Tiasal Ending. Family is family, no matter what blood says, and this family's getting bigger.


"So you boys have decided to continue your schooling in Goldhedge?" Vaarsuvius set two cups of coffee on the table, lightly slapping Tiasal's hand away when she reached for one. "Terentius, don't allow your sister to have any. She can't have caffeine with her medication."

Tiasal pouted and crossed her arms, Terentius smiling fondly and ruffling her hair, shifting her in his lap. Ever since her disappearance, her brothers rarely let her out of their sight and always kept close physical contact, leading to frequent sleepovers. Vaarsuvius was glad to have her sons there and Redcloak and Inkyrius had said that they didn't mind, so they didn't meet resistance.

"Well, it's close by. We can go there for the day and come back home. It's only a couple miles. We can walk."

Vaarsuvius arched an eyebrow but didn't comment. At least the eldest children were consenting to stop being homeschooled. Not even Abram had consented so far, despite his mother's vehement objections. Only Roy and Celia's three children had decided to go to school outside of the basin, and that was pushing it: Avery was too young to actually leave for school.

The purple-haired elf poured a glass of orange juice for the little girl, putting it on the table with two innocuous pills. "Go on."

Tiasal scowled, reluctant to take her medication, but she obediently swallowed them with a nudge from her big brother.

Octavius was smiling and he reached out a chocolate-colored hand, running his fingers through his sister's hair. She had grown it out more since she had come back, and it was a lot better taken care of than it used to be.

"Mommy, why can't I go to school too?"

Vaarsuvius paused, pouring herself some water and sitting at the table. "Your father and I have explained this to you. Aarindarius is an excellent teacher, and it is dangerous for someone with goblin blood to be out in the general humanoid public and it is dangerous for someone with elven blood do be out in the general goblinoid public."

Octavius and Terentius both frowned, the latter bouncing the girl a little in his lap. "We just want you to be safe, Baby Sister."

Tiasal scowled, purple eyes thoughtful. "I don't know how to talk with anyone but family, and I have to leave some day. Isn't it better if I go to school and get prepared for the outside world in increments?"

Vaarsuvius arched an eyebrow, sipping the water. "You wouldn't be able to defend yourself now. With age, you will."

"Then teach me, Mommy. You know offensive spells. Or ask Aarindarius to."

"That is dangerous magic, little one. Especially for children." Vaarsuvius wouldn't say that she hadn't thought about doing just that. It was really Redcloak who was most against the idea of Tiasal leaving the basin, but he was also the one with the most first-hand knowledge of the danger she'd be in. Still, Vaarsuvius couldn't deny that she would be worried as well if she left. "It's bad enough that you learned so much about necromancy."

Tiasal's scowl darkened and she withdrew. She didn't like it when her mother denigrated her power and the things Xykon showed her. It was more than she and Aarindarius had ever taught her.

Vaarsuvius felt the chill coming off her daughter and softened, reaching out and touching her shoulder. "Your father and I will talk about it. Perhaps—" She stopped with a surprised look on her face, jerking her hand back and looking down at herself.

All three of the children perked in concern, forgetting the tension in the room from before.

"Oh." Vaarsuvius quickly cleared her throat, face slipping into a cold businesslike mask that only came rarely these days. "Octavius, I believe that you and Tiasal should go visit Abram. I'm sure Haley and Elan would be glad to see you both."

Terentius got pale, but Tiasal and Octavius obviously hadn't caught on. Tiasal gave a quizzical "Mommy…?" and Octavius leaned forward, tensing up and frowning.

"Other Parent—"

"Take your sister to Haley and Elan's home, Octavius."

There was a 'you'd better listen to me right now' tone that made Vaarsuvius's children hop to it. Octavius had a note of hurt in his face, but he stood and picked up Tiasal.

"Wait, what's happening?"

"Who knows? C'mon, let's go see Abram. Lydia and Eric are probably with him too." Octavius bounced his little sister a little in his arms and walked out. Terentius stared at his Other Parent, more and more color draining from his face.

"Other Parent, did your—"

"Terentius, get your Step Parent."

Terentius nodded quickly, gulping, and zipped upstairs so fast there was practically smoke left behind.

He came back in what had to be record time, pulling a thoroughly confused Redcloak by the arm. "Terentius? V, is something wrong?"

Vaarsuvius's fingers where laced together, so tense that the knuckles were white. "Terentius, join your siblings. And give them an apology for my abruptness."

Terentius hesitated, then swallowed and nodded, leaving in the same direction as his twin and sister. Redcloak looked after him, then looked back at his wife and sat down next to her, taking her hands in his. "Vaarsuvius? Love?"

She knew he was worried. He rarely called her 'Love'.

"I'm going to go into labor soon."

He got paler, stroking her hands gently. "Do you want me to bring Durkon?"

"I'd like as few people present as possible. If you believe that another cleric is necessary, then bring him."

"I have all the healing spells you'd need. You're probably not going to give birth for hours, anyway."

She took a deep breath, stifling a wince as her body started getting ready to accommodate the child.

"Do you want to go to the spare room?"

She took another deep breath, then nodded.

Redcloak took her arm, helping her up. Under normal circumstances, Vaarsuvius would protest and point out that she was more than capable of standing alone. Under _these_ circumstances, the elf was willing to let the goblin help as much as he wanted.

"Are you afraid?"

Vaarsuvius kept a tight grip on his hand as he led her up the stairs. "Not as much as you."

"Well, that'd be impossible." Redcloak gave a nervous chuckle, kissing her temple. "I just don't want you to be hurt."

"I'm not delicate, Red. I will be fine." Her grip was still tight. "Focus on the baby."

He sat her down on a bed, going to the drawers and pulling out clean linens. "How fast do you think this is moving?"

"I have an hour. Perhaps two." Vaarsuvius winced again, the slightest wry smile tweaking her lips. "We may wish to strip the bed." She stood, pulling the blanket off to leave only sheets and pillows.

"Are you sure you don't want the kids here?"

"I didn't want them to know I was frightened, Red." Vaarsuvius paced, focusing on breathing. "They will come back soon enough. I don't want them there for the birthing, but they should be able to hold their new sibling."

"Alright." Redcloak leaned against the bedpost, eye following her around the room. "The Order's going to want to hold the baby too. And Inkyrius. And Aarindarius. And the other kids."

"They are all family. I do not mind their touching the baby if you do not." Vaarsuvius took another deep breath, lips tightening in pain.

"Do you want a painkiller?"

"Not yet. Not unless I cannot handle it anymore." Vaarsuvius kept pacing, keeping the breathing steady and calm. "Red, I have been thinking. After this baby, would you like to have more? Trying to, this time."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he paused for a moment, processing the question. "More? I thought that pregnancy hurt you a lot…"

"It was easier this time." Vaarsuvius steadied, walking to him and wrapping her arms gently around his neck. "I believe that Tiasal was so difficult for me because I was under significant stress and I had never given birth before." A smile flickered to her face and her eyes flicked up to his own. "Remember how frightened we were?"

"Can I ever forget?" He loosely draped his arms around her waist, the shifting mass in her belly rubbing against him, and his eye twinkled a little with memory. "And I thought I was scared _before._" He caressed her cheek gently. "I couldn't believe that you were pregnant. I think that's why I didn't figure it out sooner. In retrospect, it should have been obvious."

"It wasn't pleasant to keep it a secret, I assure you." Vaarsuvius leaned into his touch, momentarily distracted from the growing pain. "I knew that you had a right to know. Every time you touched me, I felt so guilty for hiding it from you. It was… it was actually a relief when it finally came out, despite the circumstances."

"Relief for you, maybe. I thought the world had gone crazy." Redcloak kissed her hairline. "The worst part was that you hadn't told me, and it wasn't just because I was the father. " He kissed her face again. "You were in trouble and you never said anything."

Vaarsuvius softened, pressing her lips to his neck. "You were always a romantic, Red, no matter how much you deny it."

"I never tried to deny anything." Redcloak sighed, letting his hands go down and gently massage the shifting belly. His wife let out a soft sound of contentment, encouraging him to continue. "I loved you. I was angry at myself for not figuring out what was wrong, and more so because I was partially responsible for it. I was angriest because I couldn't help you. My deal with Xykon kept me from so much as staying with you during the whole thing. I knew that you had it a lot worse than I did." He tenderly rubbed downward, urging the baby to get in the proper position. "You know, I would have thought you would resent me for it. I could have just left Scot-free and you were trapped."

"I forgave you for that the moment I found out about the condition, Red." She kissed his neck again. "I never expected you to put anything above your ultimate goal, but I knew that you would have helped me if you didn't have that to think about. You are a good man."

"I'd be careful about calling me a good man, V." Redcloak kept massaging the belly, splinters of fear and excitement pricking his stomach when he felt the baby within shifting.

"You're a good man in my eyes."

He smiled.

"You know, I knew that I loved you the day you escaped the castle."

"You mean the day we both nearly killed each other?"

"Nearly killing isn't killing." He looked at her eyes, the little lovesick kid in him jumping when he saw the smile there. "You know, I noticed a small cut on my neck after that. Was that a testament to your Strength score?"

"I was considering killing you, but I couldn't in the end. Blackwing tried to egg me on, but I reasoned that I owed you for sparing my life."

"Ah, Blackwing. It took him forever to warm up to me."

"He refused to appear when we met each other again in Girard's dungeon, remember?"

"Yeah. I do." He kept up his gentle kneading, kissing her softly. "Where is he now?"

"He was restless this morning. I think he knew what would happen today without realizing it. I let him outside to stretch his wings." Vaarsuvius stifled another groan of pain. "So, what is your answer? Would you like more children?"

"I love the ones we have, V. I know I'd love more. But I don't want to get into anything that your body won't be able to handle." His sigh blew by her ear, making her shiver a little. "And I don't want to have more children if our current children are against it."

"Of course not. We would discuss it with the twins and Tiasal beforehand, though perhaps not together. Octavius still needs to warm up to you more."

"Hey, at least Terentius is accepting me as a stepfather. The other day, I actually got a hug. Granted, it was with one arm, but still."

Vaarsuvius smiled, then winced again, nearly doubling over with pain and voice getting tight. "Perhaps we should talk about this another time, my love."

"Of course. Do you need to get on the bed?"

"I believe so."

Redcloak withdrew from his wife, laying out the linens and helping her on the bed. "Okay." He clutched her hand tightly, face getting a little white.

"Don't be afraid."

He gave a nervous chuckle. "At this point, I'm just scared of what you'll do to me. I'm not sure if you remember, but you get a really colorful vocabulary when you're in labor. And you get violent."

"Stay out of arm's reach this time."

"I figured."

Nonetheless, he kept holding her hand, waiting for it to start.

* * *

"Come on, Oompa Loompa. Just try to get the ball."

Haley was moving the shells almost too fast to see, forcing the little girl to pay close attention. Everyone let her continue, relieved that someone was giving a little calm to the poor kid. Haley was probably best equipped to handle an upset Tiasal anyway—the woman had raised her since birth.

"The right one?"

Haley picked up the right shell, revealing nothing beneath. She picked up all three and a small pink ball rolled out from the left-most one. "You want to try again?"

Tiasal scowled, picking up the ball and bouncing it lightly against the table. "I'll get this."

"I know you will, Sweetheart." Haley smiled and put the shells down again, tucking the ball under one and switching them.

Inkyrius seemed to have employed a similar trick to entertain the other children (plus Belkar and Elan, but they sort of counted as children…).

"Are you sure that there are only two decks of cards here?"

"Positive. Just concentrate on the game and you'll win."

The cards were shifting like magic in Inkyrius's hands, weaving together and cutting into each side with nary a snatch of a look at their undersides getting caught by the players, before they were dealt out, face down.

"Why aren't you playing, Inky?" Elan asked innocently, placing a bet of peanuts so big that it couldn't possibly have been realistic. Everyone in the circle (minus Avery, who barely understood the game and needed Celia to help her out) rolled their eyes and matched his bet. He quickly folded.

"I'm good at cards," Inkyrius responded, dark emerald eyes twinkling, and tucked a neon green lock of hair behind a pointy ear. Roy, Aarindarius, and Durkon looked down from their perches in the chairs, the former cocking his head curiously, and Haley glanced away from the shells for the slightest moment.

"Oh really?"

Belkar raised the bet, then Octavius and Avery (with Celia's instruction) folded, but everyone else matched him.

"Well, I needed to do something to pay my way through baking school, didn't I?" Inkyrius was shuffling the deck again in preparation for dealing another hand, a smile on a significantly more healthy face. "There was a local—" green eyes flicked to the younger children present "—place where people liked to play these sorts of games. I got a job as a card dealer."

Tiasal broke eye-contact with the shells to look at Inkyrius, only to look back at the shells with a soft sound of dissatisfaction.

The players laid out their hands, Terentius smirking as he collected the pile of peanuts at the center.

Inkyrius collected the cards with one sweep of the hand, shuffling them again without needing to look.

"What kind of 'place' was this? There's no way you could have supported yourself just with dealing wages." Haley stopped her shell switching, smiling at Tiasal affectionately and reaching out, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear in a motherly fashion. "And you need to brush your hair, Sweetie."

"I brushed it this morning, Auntie!" Tiasal picked the middle shell, pouting when the ball wasn't there, but she couldn't keep it up. Haley knew how to nudge a good mood from her.

"The tips were good." Inkyrius glanced up at Tiasal, taking a strand of purple hair between pale fingers. "You'll need to learn how to take care of this, Baby. It's beautiful, but pretty high-maintenance. My Parent worked with hair: I'll teach you a thing or two this weekend. How does that sound?"

Tiasal grinned widely, tilting her head a little to the side so Haley and Inkyrius could touch her hair easier. She may have been a little reluctant to admit it, but it was no secret that she loved having her hair touched and played with. "That sounds great."

Haley looked down at her purse, rifling through it before taking out a comb and sliding so she was next to Tiasal. "I'll fix this up."

Tiasal smiled and leaned back, letting her aunt start gently combing her hair. Durkon was obviously still tense, glancing up the stairs over and over, but Roy, while worried, nodded his head and smiled a little in appreciation for how effectively Inkyrius and Haley were keeping the kids (and everyone else, basically) calm. Aarindarius was biting his knuckle again, nearly making himself bleed, but that was the only sign of his genuine concern. Well, that and the fact that he was barely responding to anyone.

"Tips can't keep up school and living expenses, even if you deal for high-bid games."

Inkyrius dealt the cards, smiling serenely. "Well, of course. I figured that out soon enough."

Belkar frowned, watching the tiny elven hands deal with expert grace, then his gaze flicked up to the elf's face, noting the big green eyes automatically jerking to the discarded pile and then to the hands the players were picking up, like an instinct demanded it.

"You're a card shark!"

Inkyrius looked down at him, arching a green eyebrow and putting down the remaining cards. That got Aarindarius's attention for a moment, provoking a shocked expression. Avery looked up curiously, cocking her head, but got easily distracted by the cards. Terentius and Octavius just glanced at each other, smirking, having already known this. Everyone else looked at the elf with varying expressions, from admiration (only Haley) to surprise (everyone, including Haley). "I never _cheated._ It was easy enough to count the cards."

"I never would have guessed, Inky."

Inkyrius smiled again, shuffling the deck. "It was always a side thing. Baking is more fun anyway. And less likely to have people trying to hunt me down." That came with a light wink, making Tiasal squirm in excitement.

"That's so _cool!_ Can you teach me?"

"Of course, Baby. But don't try it when the rough-n'-tough crowd's around—they're sore losers." Inkyrius winked again, giving Tiasal's hand an affectionate squeeze.

Haley didn't try hiding her smile. Tiasal had really blossomed since she had come back from her disappearance and had started talking, as had her relationship with her whole family (Haley didn't care what blood said—Tiasal was her baby and was the baby of the whole Order and all the people who raised her). Inkyrius's and the twins' health seemed to have just rocketed in quality as well—Haley had been afraid that they would either destroy or kill themselves with the deep depression Tia's 'death' had brought on, but after she came back with Vaarsuvius and Redcloak, they had just… gotten better. She didn't pretend to understand. She was just happy that Inkyrius and the boys had finally found peace and were accepting Redcloak into the family. (Haley had never doubted that Inkyrius would do so. Even in the depths of depression, that elf had a well of pure love for everyone. It was admirable.) She could tell that the more subtle downturn in Aarindarius's health had also reversed. Tiasal was more loved than she realized.

Avery won the pot this hand. She smiled with a loud 'Thank you!' and collected the peanuts. None of the other players seemed to mind losing to the adorable toddler (except maybe her big brother, Eric) and Elan affectionately tapped her nose. Avery grinned and snatched at his finger before starting to eat her winnings.

"Avery, you're not supposed to eat them!" Eric protested, but Lydia lightly shoved him.

"We got plenty of peanuts, Baby Bro." Her eyes were keeping track of the cards. Inkyrius recognized the budding shark, just smiling and giving a soft chuckle. Avery kept eating the peanuts with a grin and Celia kissed the top of her head.

A door upstairs closed.

Everyone, even Avery, fell silent and still.

A drained but happy Redcloak came down the stairs, smiling. "A boy."

The entire room let out a big breath. Terentius and Octavius glanced at each other, the latter smiling triumphantly.

"Told you."

"Okay, okay, I'll pay up when we get back home."

Inkyrius glanced at the boys, unable to scold them and just settling for standing up, giving Redcloak a genuine smile. "Congratulations. What's his name?"

"Aridar." He chuckled softly. "One of the shorter goblin names."

Aarindarius murmured it under his breath, trying it out. "It's a lovely name." He smiled, relaxing a little. "Am I right to think that the baby and Vaarsuvius are healthy and well?"

Redcloak nodded, leaning a little against the wall. "Tia, boys, you should see him first. You too, Inkyrius."

The elf's eyebrows went up in surprise.

"You're family too."

Inkyrius paused, then grinned widely. "Thank you."

Tiasal nervously scooched off her chair and the twins stood up, Octavius sticking close to his brother with a slightly spooked look. None of them exactly knew what to do.

Inkyrius gently ushered them up the stairs, putting a comforting hand on all of them in turn, and Redcloak followed.

All the dirty linens were gone and there was the worrying scent of blood in the air, but Vaarsuvius was covered with a blanket and cradled a little bundle in thin arms. Everyone went to look at the baby, careful not to crowd the mother, and Inkyrius cooed softly.

He was green and tiny little buds of tusks seemed to be peeking out of his gum, but he was squirming a little to free his arms, waving them in front of his face. Big curious gold eyes blinked up, taking in everything, and a little wisp of blue hair adorned his head. Terentius curiously tweaked his new little brother's ear, an odd combination of elven and goblin, similar to Tiasal, and the boy immediately twitched and snatched his finger, clamping his gums on it.

"I think my hand was just stolen." Terentius smiled and gently tried to pry his finger free, but Aridar just tightened his tiny grip, letting out satisfied sounds from his throat as he chewed on his little captive.

Tiasal hung back, nervously eyeing the baby in her mother's arm, something akin to sadness and jealousy in her face. Redcloak looked down at her, then picked her up, kissing her cheek and murmuring softly in her ear in Goblin. _"You'll always be our little girl, Sweet Dreams."_

Tiasal's ears twitched and relaxed. She gently twined her arms around his neck and leaned her head against his chest. "Daddy, can I look closer at Ari?"

He smiled and bounced her a little in place before letting her look closer. Vaarsuvius looked up, smiling, and allowed the little girl to touch the tiny hairs on the baby's head. Aridar twisted to look at her, their eyes meeting, and he grinned, happy laughter bubbling from his stomach and his newly freed hands clapping together.

"Hi, Baby Brother. I'm Tiasal. I'm your big sister."

She gripped the boy's hand, careful to keep her claws from cutting into his skin.

"And you're my little brother."

* * *

A/N: Happy belated Father's Day to all.


End file.
